


Not Alone Anymore (Reylo One-Shot)

by Celestia_ships_reylo



Category: Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Awkward cuddles, Ben Solo Loves Rey, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Canon Rewrite, F/M, Force Bond (Star Wars), Hut Scene, Loneliness, Movie: Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Rey Loves Ben Solo, Rey Needs A Hug (Star Wars), Star Wars: The Last Jedi References, Star Wars: The Last Jedi Spoilers, The Force Ships It (Star Wars), kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-16
Updated: 2020-12-16
Packaged: 2021-03-10 19:07:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,618
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28102170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celestia_ships_reylo/pseuds/Celestia_ships_reylo
Summary: When their hands meet, nothing will ever be the same...[A one-shot about what could have happened if Luke had not so rudely interrupted Rey and Ben during the hut scene]
Relationships: Kylo Ren/Rey, Rey/Ben Solo, Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 8
Kudos: 49
Collections: Ijustfellintothissendhelp





	Not Alone Anymore (Reylo One-Shot)

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this one-shot about the famous hut scene in honor of the third anniversary of The Last Jedi’s release in theaters!!  
> Hope you enjoy reading, and let me know your thoughts in the comments! (I’d love to see your suggestions for future one-shots you want me to write, as well!)

Rey stumbled into the Ahch-To hut she had temporarily made into her quarters, shivering with cold and shaking with repressed sobs. As she sat on the stone bench that she had been using to sleep on, she held her shaking hands out to the fire that the Lanai Caretakers had prepared for her in anticipation of her return. For once, she was thankful for the creatures, although she knew they did it only out of their duty as Caretakers and not out of any concern toward Rey. She had disrupted the quiet life they were used to, and she was sure the Lanai hated her and wanted her gone as soon as possible.

In fact, _everything_ on this island seemed to hate her. Luke wanted nothing to do with her, begrudgingly allowing her three lessons only to show her why he _wouldn’t_ train her. The porgs were just plain annoying. And, just a few minutes ago, she had been disappointed by the darkness of the mirror-cave that had called to her. The only thing—the only person—who didn’t seem to hate her in the least was the person she most expected to hate her. Kylo Ren. _No...his name is Ben Solo,_ she thought. Although they were supposed to be enemies, no one seemed to understand her like he did.

Still trembling, more from confusion and loneliness than from cold now, Rey reached out, searching for him though the Force in a way only they knew how. No matter what she had said to him, he had always been patient with her. Sometimes infuriatingly so. Rey needed someone to talk to, someone to stop the loneliness from eating away at her. She knew that he would listen. Most of all, she knew that he would _understand_. Nobody else knew the pain that she was feeling better than Ben did. She remembered vividly the first time they had been in each other’s minds. It was almost uncanny, how they had lived such different lives and yet experienced so much of the same suffering.

She sighed in relief when she felt his presence, bright with the Force, mixed with streaks of ominous yet beautiful darkness. She closed her eyes and tried to slow her shaky breaths. When she opened them, Ben was standing in front of her. She could see him just as clearly as if he were really standing in the hut with her. Just the sight of him soothed her strangely.

A look of concern passed over his features. “Rey?” He stepped toward her cautiously. “You’re...shaking. Are you okay?”

His apparent concern for her surprised Rey. She could sense that he was genuinely worried to see her this way. “It—it’s fine. I just f—fell in some water, t—that’s all,” she said, trying to steady her voice. “There’s a fire here, so I’m all right—”

She stopped talking abruptly to watch him grab something that was in the corner of the hut and bring it to her. A blanket.

“Oh, I, uh, t—thank you.”

She reached for the blanket, but instead, he started to unfold it himself. He was close enough to her now that she could simply reach up and touch his hair if she wanted to. She tried to convince herself that she _didn’t_ want to...but she couldn’t.

“Hold still,” he whispered softly. Rey let him drape the blanket over her shoulders, surprised at his sudden kindness and at how gentle he could be. And yet...she had called him a monster not that long ago.... She was so preoccupied with the tenderness of his gesture that she did not count it strange that he had been able to pick up the blanket in the first place—from the other side of the galaxy.

He stepped away from her, shaken at what he had just done, and at the fact that she had allowed it. He sat down, unable to determine whether he was still sitting in his chambers or if he was wherever Rey was. It didn’t matter, really. He was more worried about her than anything else.

“What—what happened? You fell into...water?” he asked in a worried tone.

Rey nodded and began her story. Of how Luke had rejected her. How the darkness had called to her, promising answers. How she had reached only a dead end and despair. He listened in silence, his gaze understanding and patient.

“I thought I’d find answers here. I was wrong,” she said, her voice pained. “I’d never felt so alone.”

“You’re not alone,” he said earnestly in the deep voice that had become so familiar to her ears. She knew he was telling the truth. She was not alone...she had him. _And he has me,_ she thought to herself, remembering just how lonely she knew he was, as well.

“Neither are you,” she said in a half-whisper. “It isn’t too late.”

She tentatively extended her hand to him, yearning for his touch but also wanting to comfort him in return. She watched in a tense silence as he removed his gloves. Slowly, almost hesitantly, Ben reached out to meet her fingertips with his own, unsure of whether he would be able to feel her just as he had felt the softness of the blanket. It turned out that he could. They _actually_ touched. Somehow, across an entire galaxy, they were actually in the same place at the same time. They were _together_.

Rey’s breath caught when they touched. A tear rolled down her cheek, but it was no longer a tear of loneliness. It was a tear of relieved joy. She couldn’t deny the feeling that this was the belonging she had been searching for all these years.

The Force sizzled and sparked with energy between them, alive and powerful as their connection drew them closer. Visions threatened to overwhelm her consciousness, but she pushed them away with great effort, wanting to focus only on this moment. Only on Ben. She sensed him doing the same.

She clasped his hand in her own, her thumb gently caressing his fingers, comforting them both. Still recovering from the shock that went through the Force when their hands met, Ben realized that he could finally see her surroundings, feel the warmth of the fire beside her. They sat gazing into each other’s eyes, both finally realizing that, for the very first time in as long as either could remember, they were not alone.

A noise outside the hut startled her, and she pulled her hand away suddenly, afraid that someone would walk in and find them together. Especially Luke. Her heart pounding, she looked toward the entrance of her hut, expecting him to burst in at any moment. But no one came. _False alarm,_ she thought with a relieved sigh.

Turning to face Ben once more, she saw a hurt and fearful look in his eyes. “Luke?” he asked, and she felt his thoughts turn instinctively to the saber at his side.

“No. I thought maybe—but no, it’s not him.”

“I’m sorry,” he said, sensing a feeling of guilt from Rey, knowing that she should not be caught with him here.

“Ben, don’t—don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Ben took a deep breath. No one had ever said _that_ to him before. Ever since he was young, no one had ever given him the benefit of the doubt. Especially not Luke. Especially not on the night he had fled the temple, unable to save his fellow students from the fire he was always blamed for but had not meant to cause. Everything he had done had always been wrong, had always been pervaded by darkness. At least, that’s what the voices in his head had always told him. That he had always been seen as a villain. Eventually he had simply become what others expected him to be. A villain. A monster.

They stared at each other in an awkward silence, neither knowing how to deal with the emotions they had just experienced. Rey broke with his gaze and looked around the room, unsure of what to say now. She could have laughed when she saw the tiny seat he was sitting on.

“That looks, uh, awfully uncomfortable,” she said, gesturing at his seat and scooting over on her bench slightly. “You could...sit here. If you’d like.” She pointed the space beside her timidly.

Ben nodded and stood, pausing to unclip his saber from his belt and place it aside before sitting down beside her, somewhat awkwardly.

“Do you—do you really think it isn’t too late for me?” he whispered. Her words had given him the first hope he had had in years, that he could actually go home... But could he, really, after all he had done?

“I do, Ben,” she said reassuringly. She let herself reach for his hand, entwining her fingers with his. Her hand fit so perfectly in his. “I do,” she whispered again, glancing up to meet his eyes. She lost track of time, studying his face and losing herself in his gaze.

He looked away suddenly, as if it hurt to look at her any longer. “Ben? What’s wrong?” she said, grasping his hand tightly, feeling waves of pain and confusion emanating from him through the Force.

“I—I’m afraid, Rey.” She wondered how long it had been since he had admitted to anyone that he was afraid. He lived in constant fear and regret, she knew. But he had learned to hide it well.

“What are you afraid of, Ben?” He closed his eyes, as if saying what he was afraid of would make it infinitely more real.

“Snoke?” Rey asked, concerned.

“No, not Snoke,” he said with certainty. Just now, when they had touched hands, he had made his decision. Not to leave the First Order...not yet. He still wasn’t ready for that. But he knew that he would never let Snoke stand between them. Snoke was nothing but an obstacle now.

“The Resistance? Ben, I promise, if you come, I won’t let them hurt you. And Leia would—” she felt him stiffen at the mention of his mother’s name.

“No, it’s not that,” he cut in, although he knew, if it came to that, he would, indeed, be afraid of their reaction. They would probably try to kill him. _Fair enough,_ he thought. He had killed quite a few of them, hadn’t he? It was true...but never without that nagging twinge of regret that came later. “You—you don’t understand, Rey.”

“Then _tell me,”_ she said, leaning closer, her eyes full of compassion.

He turned to face her once more, his eyes beginning to shine with tears. “I’m afraid of _this_. Of _us.”_ He paused at the bewildered look on her face. “It’s not just the Force that connects us, Rey. It’s...something else. Please, please tell me you feel it too.”

“I’m afraid of these feelings, Rey. This could destroy us,” he continued, on the verge of tears, pleading with her, begging her to understand. Rey did understand. She couldn’t deny it anymore, what she felt for him.

His eyes widened as she wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. “Don’t be afraid,” she whispered. “I feel it too.” His heart full, he tentatively embraced her, feeling so unworthy of her affection.

“Ben, it’s okay,” she said quietly. “Just—just hold me.” He hugged her closer, almost protectively, as if she was the most precious thing in the galaxy to him. Because she was.

They trembled slightly, shaken by the tremors that went through the Force at each other’s touch. Sitting together, warm in each other’s embrace, neither of them had ever felt so at home.

“I promise, Rey, whatever happens now, you won’t be alone anymore. Never again,” he whispered gently.

“But—you said this could destroy us,” she said, looking up at him, her hazel eyes shining brightly in the firelight.

It was true...he _had_ said that... “I know,” he said, “and that’s what I’m afraid of. That, if—if we become...something _more_ to each other...it will just put us in more danger. And—and maybe I should just give you up now, to keep you safe. But I...can’t. Maybe it’s selfish, but I—I need you. I can’t lose you. Even if it means I put myself in danger.”

“Ben, how could this be dangerous?”

“Rey, don’t you see? We’re on opposite sides of a war. Just now, when you thought Luke was coming, you felt _guilty_. Guilty for being with me. Because I’m on the other side. We can’t...we can’t live like that. And—and if anyone found out, we would just become pawns in the larger game. We’d become weapons against each other, even more than we already are.” A small tear rolled down his face. She could sense his despair and it ached within her too.

“Then come home,” she said, “Come back to your mother, to the Resistance, where you belong. Then you won’t be on the other side.”

He shook his head. “The Resistance, the Republic, even my own family—they were never my home. I never belonged anywhere. And if you don’t belong anywhere, there’s nowhere to go back to. You know the truth...they’ll never take me back. I remember, young as I was, when the New Republic came to power. They didn’t ‘take back’ war criminals like me. They sent them to prison. Sent them to places like the Karthon Chop Fields. To work...and die. Alone.” He remembered that even those who had had no choice but to serve the Empire had been forced to accept the fate of a prisoner. That’s what he felt like now. He had been pushed into the Dark Side, and now, if he tried to go back, he would be a prisoner. Or worse. He sighed, closing his eyes, trying to keep regret from overwhelming him. “Trust me, Rey. They won’t take me back.”

“I will.”

“What?”

“I’ll take you back.”

Ben smiled slightly. “I know you will. Because _you’re_ my home, Rey. When I found you, I finally found where I belong.”

Rey smiled back. “Here?” she asked, and Ben knew exactly what she meant. _In her arms._

“Yes,” he whispered.

“That’s good,” she said softly, releasing him in order to wipe a tear from his cheek. “Because this is where I belong too.” Her fingers brushed his scar. The one she had given him. She had not known it then, but it was the one that had made him hers.

“I can _make_ them take you back,” she whispered laughingly, her hand still resting gently against the side of his face.

He smiled at her. “I know you would, Rey. But,” his face turned sober, “I don’t think I’m ready to go back. Believe me, I would.” _For you,_ he left unsaid. “But I can’t do it...not yet.”

“I understand,” Rey said, failing to completely hide the longing and disappointment in her eyes. How she wished that everyone could just forget his past and welcome him home. That everyone could see him just as she did. Well, maybe not _exactly_ as she did...

“I have to kill Snoke,” he said, half to himself, lost in anxious thought and confusing emotions.

Rey let her hand fall to her lap, acknowledging silently the unfortunate truth in his words. But she knew she couldn’t—wouldn’t—let him do it alone. _You won’t be alone anymore,_ he had said just a moment ago. _Neither will he,_ she decided.

“I’ll come to you.”

“What? Rey, I—”

“Ben, listen. I’ll help you. Like you said, we’re not alone anymore.”

He smiled, unable to argue with her, unable to contradict her beautiful, encouraging grin. “Are—are you sure, though? It will be dangerous, and I can’t guarantee that—”

“Ben,” she said, laughing, “when has anything since I met you _not_ been dangerous?”

He laughed in return for the first time in what seemed like years. How was it possible to feel so comfortable with her just days after being shot at by her, interrogating her, being beaten at lightsaber combat by her, being shot at by her _again_... _Maybe things like that just happen when you love someone,_ he thought. He was startled at his own thought. He... _loved_ her? He sighed. Of _course_ he loved her. Did Rey think of him the same way? Did she love him in return? A million thoughts flooded through his head, making him forget all about Snoke for a moment.

“Rey,” he said, suddenly solemn, “thank you.”

“For—for what, Ben?”

“For believing in me. For helping me.... For staying with me, despite...everything.”

She smiled softly. “Of course, Ben. I—”

She stopped mid-sentence as he leaned closer to her. Before she could react, he planted a soft, hesitant kiss on her cheek. He pulled away and stared at her with his eyes wide, as if fearfully waiting for a reaction.

Rey’s heart went wild, her unspoken feelings for him stirring within her. Now she knew, knew for _certain_ , that he felt just the same strange things for her as she felt for him. Perhaps she had not recognized what her feelings meant before this moment. But now she knew that he was her belonging, and she was never going to let that belonging go. She could tell that he was worried that she wouldn’t want his kiss. That she wouldn’t want _him._

She smiled widely. “That’s not how that works,” she said, somewhat playfully.

That was not what he had expected her to say. “What?” he asked, confused and anxious.

She reached up and brought one hand to his face lightly, her fingers brushing against his hair. “Here, let me show you,” she whispered.

“I—”

Before he could say anything more, she slipped her hand gently behind his neck and into his hair, and pressed her lips to his. His heart rate going up wildly, he reached out for her and pulled her close to him, relishing this moment and reveling in the knowledge that she did, in fact, love him in return.

 _“Ben,”_ she breathed out as he kissed her back, treasuring this because he might never get another chance to show her just how much he now knew that he loved her.

Pulling away reluctantly, he gazed into her eyes, his own swimming with emotion and delight.

_“Rey...”_

She couldn’t stop smiling. “I know,” she said, letting her hands fall to his shoulders as she gazed up at him in exhilaration.

Suddenly, they both let out a little sigh. They could feel their connection fading. Both of them had forgotten entirely that this would end. That they were really half a galaxy apart, somehow. Could they really be such a long distance away from each other, and yet have been so, so close? Close enough to kiss? Well, the Force had brought them together in the first place, and it seemed to want them to stay that way. Together. In fact, it was a miracle that their connection had stayed open for so long. Perhaps the Force had responded to their unspoken pleas to be rescued from their torturous solitude and their hidden longing for each other.

She was startled out of her musings by their connection fading even more. She slipped her hands into his once more. “Ben, I’ll come to you. Just—wait for me,” she said quickly, desperately, not wanting him to leave her but knowing the connection wouldn’t hold up forever.

Her voice sounded somewhat distant to him now. “I will. I’ll wait for you, Rey,” he said, feeling the sensation of her hands clasped in his own growing dull. “I’ll see you soon,” he said reassuringly, his voice full of hope that only she could have renewed in him.

She blinked once, twice. And he was gone. But instead of feeling empty, her heart felt full. Full of the wildest dreams and fantasies of everything that they could be together, brought on by the taste the Force had given her of belonging. Of being...loved. She had never been given a greater gift than this—knowing that Ben loved her. That she was truly not alone anymore, and never would be again.

A sound at the entrance to the hut shook her out of her reverie, and she turned, finding herself face-to-face with Luke. Her eyes widened, but she willed herself to stay calm.

“ _What_ were you doing with him, Rey?” he asked slowly, but she could tell he was outraged.

“We were just...t—talking,” she said, knowing that Luke had been able to see Ben because he had _actually_ been there in the hut with her ever since they had first touched hands.

She could just imagine what Ben would have said in the same situation, now that he was armed with the knowledge that she loved him. _What are you going to do about it, huh?_ She could just _hear_ him say it while holding her protectively and possessively in his arms. She smiled. It sounded just like something Han would’ve said, too. She had half a mind to say just that when she looked back at Luke, his face drawn in bewilderment and displeasure.

 _“Just talking?”_ he remarked sarcastically, and Rey bit her lip, wondering just how long Luke had been standing there, and what he had seen them do. She supposed she didn’t care what he thought anymore, but it was awkward nonetheless, being caught kissing the man that was supposed to be your mortal enemy.

“Exactly _how much_ of that did you see?”


End file.
